Gauge wheel for a two-way plow

ABSTRACT

A two-way plow having alternately usable right- and left-hand plow units mounted on a frame that is selectively rotatable about a fore-and-aft axis to dispose the plow units in operating positions and a single gauge wheel that is automatically positioned when the plow is indexed to one of its alternate plowing positions to regulate the plowing depth when the plow is in either of its plowing positions. The mounting of the gauge wheel includes a single adjustment which varies the working depth of the plow for both of the plowing positions, and the adjustment can easily be made by hand without the use of tools when the plow is intermediate its alternate positions.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard Dale Nelson Cambridge, Ill.

[211 App]. No. 7,443

[22] Filed Feb. 2, 1970 [45] Patented Dec. 7, 1971 [73] Assignee Deere &Company Moline, Ill.

[54] GAUGE WHEEL FOR A TWO-WAY PLOW 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 172/212, 172/395 [5|] 1nt.Cl A0lb 3/28, AOlb 3/40 [50] FieldolSearch l72/l6l,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,845,014 7/1958 Pursche172/212 Primary E.taminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant E.raminer-C. W.Hanor Auorneys-H. Vincent Harsha. Harold M. Knoth, William A.

Murray, John M. Nolan and Raymond L. Hollister ABSTRACT: A two-way plowhaving alternately usable rightand left-hand plow units mounted on aframe that is selectively rotatable about a fore-and-aft axis to disposethe plow units in operating positions and a single gauge wheel that isautomatically positioned when the plow is indexed to one of its allternate plowing positions to regulate the plowing depth when the plow isin either of its plowing positions. The mounting of the gauge wheelincludes a single adjustment which varies the working depth of the plowfor both of the plowing positions, and the adjustment can easily be madeby hand without the use of tools when the plow is intermediate itsalternate posiem.

PATENTED DEC 7 I97! INVE RICHARD D. N

SON

GAUGE WHEEL FOR A TWO-WAY PLOW BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates generally to two-way plows, and more particularlyrelates to gauge wheels for two-way plows. 1

A conventional two-way plow has alternately usable rightand left-handplow units for directing a furrow slice in either lateral direction. Theplow units are conventionally disposed on opposite sides of the plowframe and are alternately positioned for operation by rotating the frameabout a generally longitudinally extending axis. Such plows also includea gauge means which supports the frame a predetermined distance abovethe ground to regulate the operating depth of the plow in either of itsalternate working positions. In the past, the gauge means has taken oneof two forms: a pair of gauge wheels mounted on the plow frame with eachwheel being properly positioned for operation in one of the alternateworking positions of the plow; or, a single gauge wheel which issupported on a swingable arm carried by the plow frame.

This invention is specifically concerned with providing a novel latchingmechanism for those gauge wheels which are supported on an arm swingablycarried by the plow frame for movement between alternate workingpositions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is toprovide a latching mechanism for a single gauge wheel which regulatesthe working depth of a two-way plow in either of its working positions,which latching mechanism includes a single gravity operated latch whichautomatically locks the gauge wheel in its alternate working positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a gauge wheel assembly fortwo-way plows which utilize a single latch for locking the gauge wheelin its alternate working positions, and which requires only a singleadjustment to simultaneously set the working depth of the plow in bothof its operative positions.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a gaugewheel assembly for two-way plows which requires only a single adjustmentto set the working depth of the plow in both of its operative positions,and which adjustment can be made without the use of tools. 7

The above and additional objects and advantages .will become apparentalong with the details of construction of a preferred embodiment of theinvention from a reading of the following detailed description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a typical two-way plow including asingle gauge wheel;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a two-way plow having agauge wheel according to the present invention mounted thereon; and,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the latching mechanism for the gauge wheelillustrated in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings there is shown atwo-way plow 10 attached to a tractor 12. The plow l includes a mainsupport frame 14 integrally connected to the upper and lower draft links16 and 18 of the tractor 12. The plow further includes a rollover frame20 which is mounted on the main frame 14 for rotation about itslongitudinal axis. A plurality of right-hand left-hand plow bottoms 22and 24 are mounted on the rollover frame 20 by standards 26. Therollover frame 20 can be moved between its alternate rightand left-handworking positions in any conventional manner such as by a hydraulicmotor schematically illustrated at 28. The two-way plow thus fardescribed is of conventional structure and is illustrated solely for thepurpose of providing a better understanding of the invention.

The tail wheel assembly according to the present invention includes anelongated support bar 30 which is secured to the rollover frame 20 bybolts 32. The support bar 30 is mounted on the rollover frame 20 so thatit extends parallel to the axis of rotation of the rollover frame 20 andis positioned in the same horizontal plane as the axis of rotation ofthe rollover frame 20 whenever the plow is in either of its alternateworking positions. The forward end of the support bar 30 is laterallyoffset, is provided with an aperture, and has a sleeve 34 securedtheretoin'registry with the aperture. The sleeve 34 and aperture providea journal for a pivot pin 36 which is secured to and extends to one sideof the forward end of an axle arm 38. A gauge wheel 40 is joumaled onthe opposite end of the axle am 38.

The gauge wheel 40 is automatically positioned and locked in itsalternate working positions by a latching mechanism which includes apivoted guide assembly, a telescopic link assembly and a latch assembly.The pivoted guide assembly in cludes a sleeve or bushing 42 which issecured in an aperture 44 provided in the support bar 30 near itsrearrnost end. The sleeve 42 is retained in the aperture 44 in anyconventional manner such as welding. A pivot pin 46 extends through thesleeve 42 and is retained therein by a snap ring 48 at its inner end andan enlarged head portion 50 at its outer end. A tubular guide member 52is secured to the head 50 of the pivot pin 46 in any conventional mannersuch as welding.

The telescoping link assembly includes an eye bolt 54 and an internallythreaded elongated tubular member 56. The eye bolt 54 is pivotallysecured to the axle arm 38 by a pivot pin 58. The tubular member 56 isslidably mounted within the guide 52 and is threaded onto the end of theeye bolt 54. A stop member 60 on the end of the tubular member 56prevents removal of the telescoping link assembly from the guide member52 without unthreading the connection'between the tubular member 56 andeye bolt 54. The stop member 60 is generally of U-sliape and its bightportion is of a size sufficient to extend beyond opposite edges of thetubular member 56 for a reason which will become apparent from thedescription of operation.

The latch assembly includes a pair of brackets or plates 62 which arewelded to the tubular guide member 52, are positioned in parallelism,and extend beyond the end of the tubular guide member. A latch 64 ispivotally mounted between the plates 62 near their outer ends by a pivotpin 66. The latch 64 is generally of L-shape and when in the operativeposition,

, its long leg extends generally parallel to the telescopic linkassembly and its short leg extends over the stop member 60 asillustrated in FIG. 2 to limit movement of the link assembly through theguide member 52 in one direction.

The uppermost ends of the plates 62 are tapered outwardly to provide camsurfaces 68 which cooperate with the stop member 60 to preventaccidental rotation of the tubular member 56.

In FIG. 2, the plow is illustrated in its righthand working position,and it can be seen that as the plow is lowered and the gauge wheel 40engages the earth, the telescopic link assembly will be forced upwardthrough the guide member 52. However, the movement of the telescopiclink assembly is limited by engagement between the stop member 60 andthe short leg of the latch member 64. When the stop member 60 engagesthe short leg of the latch member 64, the long leg thereof bears againstthe guide member 52 and retains the latch member 64 in its operativeposition. The telescopic link assembly and latch 64 thus determine andretain the gauge wheel 40 in its right-hand working position.

When the plow 10 is raised prior to indexing or prior to rotating therollover frame to its left-hand plowing position, the weight of thegauge wheel 40 pulls the telescopic link assembly downward so that thestop member 60 engages the guide member 52. When the stop member 60 hasmoved into engagement with the guide member 52, the latch 64 is free torotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. When therollover frame 20' is rotated to its left-hand working position, thegauge wheel assembly moves under the main frame so that the force ofgravity acting on the latch member 64 pivots the same to the positionillustrated in FIG. 3. As the rollover frame moves past the midpoint ofits turning movement, the gauge wheel 40 moves above the pivot axis ofthe axle arm 38 so that the force of gravity will tend to move the gaugewheel 40 to its left-hand working position. As the gauge wheel 40 beginsto move to its left-hand working position, the telescopic link assemblyis first pushed back through the guide member 52 until the gauge wheel40 reaches the midpoint of its movement. Additional movement of thegauge wheel 40 then pulls the telescopic link assembly forward throughthe guide member 52 until the stop 60 again engages the guide member 52.As the rollover frame 20 approaches its left-hand working position, theforce of gravity will again act on the latch member 64 to return thesame to its operative latched position so that when the plow is againlowered, the short leg of the latch 64 will limit the movement of thetelescopic link assembly.

The threaded connection between the eye bolt 54 and tubular member 56provides a simple, but infinitely variable adjustment for changing thegauging depth without the use of tools. Thus, when the plow is half-wayindexed so that any movement of the axle arm 38 occurs in a horizontalplane, an adjustment is simply made by moving the gauge wheel 40 midwaybetween its alternate positions so that the telescopic link assembly isforced back through the tubular guide member 52 and the stop member 60is behind the plates 62. It is then possible to rotate the tubularmember 56 on the eye bolt 54 to vary the length of the telescopic linkassembly.

The cam surfaces 68 on plates 62 cooperate with the stop member 60 toprevent any accidental rotation of the tubular member 56 since each timethe plow is indexed and the stop member 60 moves down into engagementwith the guide member 52, the longitudinal axis of the bight portion ofstop member 60 must be extending transversely to the planes of theplates 62. If the stop member 60 is not so aligned one of its ends willcontact one of the cam surfaces 68 so that movement of the stop membertowards the guide member 52 will rotate the stop member 60 to the properposition; Thus, should the tubular member 56 be accidentally rotatedthrough a small distance during indexing of the plow, the stop member 60and cam surfaces 68 cooperate to return the tubular 56 to its originalposition when the rollover frame 20 approaches one of its workingpositions. When the plow is in one of its working positions, the plates62 prevent any rotation of the tubular member 56.

From the foregoing description of construction and operation, it can beseen that the present invention provides a single gauge wheel fortwo-way plows which utilizes a single latching mechanism to position andlock the gauge wheel in its alternate working positions and whichlatching mechanism includes a simple single adjustment for changing theworking depth of a plow.

Although only a single preferred embodiment of the invention has beendescribed and illustrated, various modifications within the spirit andscope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the artand can be made without departing from the underlying principles of theinvention.

lclaim:

1. In combination with a two-way plow having rightand left-hand plowunits mounted on a frame rotatable about a longitudinal axis betweenalternate plowing positions to alternately disposed the rightandleft-hand plow units in operating positions, a single gauge means forsupporting the frame a predetermined distance above the ground in eitheralternate plowing position of the frame comprising: an axle armpivotally mounted on the frame for rocking movement about an axisgenerally transverse to the axis of rotation of the frame; a gauge wheeljournaled on the axle arm; a tubular guide member pivotally mounted onthe frame for rocking movement about an axis perpendicular to itslongitudinal axis and generally parallel to the axle arm axis; anelongated link member slidably mounted in the guide member and havingone end pivotally connected to the axle arm; a stop member on theopposite end of the link member preventing removal of the link memberfrom the guide member; and a gravity-actuated latch member pivotallymounted on the guide member for movement between an operative positionin which a portion thereof extends over the stop member and preventsmovement of the link member in one direction when the frame is in eitherof its alternate plowing positions and an inoperative position when theframe is intennediate its alternate plowing position.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 further including means to varythe length of the link member.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the link member includesa threaded eye bolt pivotally connected to the axle arm, an internallythreaded tube slidably mounted in the guide member, and the tube isthreadedly connected to the eye bolt whereby, by rotating the tube thelength of the link member can be varied.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein bracket means is securedto the guide member, the latch is pivotally mounted on the bracketmeans, and the bracket means includes cam means which cooperate with thestop member to reposition the tube if the tube is accidentally rotatedduring movement of the frame between its alternate plowing position.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 wherein the bracket meansincludes a pair of parallel plates extending beyond one end of the guidemember, the extending ends of the plates are tapered to provide a pairof cam surfaces on opposite sides of the centerline of the tube, and thestop member extends beyond opposite sides of the tube.

6. For use with a two-way plow having rightand left-hand plow unitsmounted on the rollover frame which is rotatable between alternateworking positions to alternately dispose the rightand left-hand plowunits in operating positions, a gauge means for supporting the frame apredetermined distance above ground in either alternate workingpositions of the frame comprising: an elongated support bar securable tothe frame parallel to the axis of rotation of the frame; an axle armhaving its forward end pivotally connected to the forward end of thesupport bar; a gauge wheel journaled to the rear end of the axle ann;guide means mounted on a rear portion of the support bar for rockingmovement about an axis parallel to the pivot axis of the axle arm;elongated rigid link means having its forward end pivotally connected tothe axle arm and its rear portion slidably carried by the guide meansfor reciprocal movement with respect thereto; stop means on the rear endof the link means engageable with the guide means to limit forwardmovement of the link means and gravity actuated latch means pivotallymounted on the guide means for movement between an operative position inwhich it limits rearward movement of the link means when the frame is ineither of its working positions and an inoperative position when theframe is intermediate its alternate working positions.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein the rigid link meansincludes a pair of telescopic members and means to hold the telescopicmembers in any adjusted relative position whereby the length of the linkmeans can be adjusted and the working depth of the plow in either of itsworking positions can be varied.

8. The combination set forth in claim 7 wherein the means to hold thetelescopic member in any adjusted relative position includes a threadedconnection.

9. The combination set forth in claim 8 wherein cam means are mounted onthe guide means and cooperate with the stop means to prevent accidentalrelative movement between the pair of telescopic members.

10. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein the gravity-actuatedlatch means is generally of L-shape and is pivotally attached to theguide means at the joinder of its legs so that when in its operativeposition the short leg extends across the path of movement of the linkmeans to prevent rearward movement of the link means and the long legabuts against the guide means to prevent movement of the short leg as aresult of pressure from the link means.

1. In combination with a two-way plow having right- and lefthand plowunits mounted on a frame rotatable about a longitudinal axis betweenalternate plowing positions to alternately dispose the right- andleft-hand plow units in operating positions, a single gauge means forsupporting the frame a predetermined distance above the ground in eitheralternate plowing position of the frame comprising: an axle armpivotally mounted on the frame for rocking movement about an axisgenerally transverse to the axis of rotation of the frame; a gauge wheeljournaled on the axle arm; a tubular guide member pivotally mounted onthe frame for rocking movement about an axis perpendicular to itslongitudinal axis and generally parallel to the axle arm axis; anelongated link member slidably mounted in the guide member and havingone end pivotally connected to the axle arm; a stop member on theopposite end of the link member preventing removal of the link memberfrom the guide member; and a gravity-actuated latch member pivotallymounted on the guide member for movement between an operative positionin which a portion thereof extends over the stop member and preventsmovement of the link member in one direction when the frame is in eitherof its alternate plowing positions and an inoperative position when theframe is intermediate its alternate plowing position.
 2. The combinationset forth in claim 1 further including means to vary the length of thelink member.
 3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the linkmember includes a threaded eye bolt pivotally connected to the axle arm,an internally threaded tube slidably mounted in the guide member, andthe tube is threadedly connected to the eye bolt whereby, by rotatingthe tube the length of the link member can be varied.
 4. The combinationset forth in claim 3 wherein bracket means is secured to the guidemember, the latch is pivotally mounted on the bracket means, and thebracket means includes cam means which cooperate with the stop member toreposition the tube if the tube is accidentally rotated during movementof the frame between its alternate plowing position.
 5. The combinationset forth in claim 4 wherein the bracket means includes a pair ofparallel plates extending beyond one end of the guide member, theextending ends of the plates are tapered to provide a pair of camsurfaces on opposite sides of the centerline of the tube, and the stopmember extends beyond opposite sides of the tube.
 6. For use with atwo-way plow having right- and left-hand plow units mounted on therollover frame which is rotatable between alternate working positions toalternately dispose the right- and left-hand plow units in operatingpositions, a gauge means for supporting the frame a predetermineddistance above ground in either alternate working positions of the framecomprising: an elongated support bar securable to the frame parallel tothe axis of rotation of the frame; an axle arm having its forward endpivotally connected to the forward end of the support bar; a gauge wheeljournaled to the rear end of the axle arm; guide means mounted on a rearportion of the support bar for rocking movement about an axis parallelto the pivot axis of the axle arm; elongated rigid link means having itsforward end pivotally connected to the axle arm and its rear portionslidably carried by the guide means for rEciprocal movement with respectthereto; stop means on the rear end of the link means engageable withthe guide means to limit forward movement of the link means; and gravityactuated latch means pivotally mounted on the guide means for movementbetween an operative position in which it limits rearward movement ofthe link means when the frame is in either of its working positions andan inoperative position when the frame is intermediate its alternateworking positions.
 7. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein therigid link means includes a pair of telescopic members and means to holdthe telescopic members in any adjusted relative position whereby thelength of the link means can be adjusted and the working depth of theplow in either of its working positions can be varied.
 8. Thecombination set forth in claim 7 wherein the means to hold thetelescopic member in any adjusted relative position includes a threadedconnection.
 9. The combination set forth in claim 8 wherein cam meansare mounted on the guide means and cooperate with the stop means toprevent accidental relative movement between the pair of telescopicmembers.
 10. The combination set forth in claim 6 wherein thegravity-actuated latch means is generally of L-shape and is pivotallyattached to the guide means at the joinder of its legs so that when inits operative position the short leg extends across the path of movementof the link means to prevent rearward movement of the link means and thelong leg abuts against the guide means to prevent movement of the shortleg as a result of pressure from the link means.